McCain's "Plans" Are Irrelevant
John McCain's plans, whether for "solving" the mortgage crisis or for "reforming" health insurance, are meaningless.
Whether McCain proposes to bail out homeowners or banks to solve the mortgage crisis doesn't matter, unless the McCain proposal forces Obama and the Democratic Congress to offer a better plan.
And, while it would be smart for him to do it, whether or not he comes around on pre-existing conditions to improve his health insurance plan doesn't matter either.
The Democratic Congress will never pass legislation to implement McCain's plans.
On the other hand, any proposal Obama, who will have a majority in both houses of Congress, makes has to be taken seriously.
And any proposal Pelosi or Reid makes has to be taken seriously as well.
In fact, about the only argument McCain can still make on domestic issues is that an inexperienced Democratic President like Obama will just rubber stamp Pelosi's and Reid's agendas.
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Would be a good argument for him to make. Run on the unpopularity of Congress - even I'd have to agree quite a bit.
October 9, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think health insurance reform may be McCain's undoing. I think he doesn't understand how frightening the thought of losing health insurance if you have "pre-existing conditions" is to people looking at a real recession coming.
He could improve his hand by giving in on that issue.
October 9, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry about the troll, Des. For a minute there, I actually thought we might have a conversation about the blog.
October 9, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Worse than irrelevant:
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/10/john-mccains-ne.html
h/t Daily Dish
October 9, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Irrelevant is irrelevant. I won't point out the assumptions in your quote, because it essentially supports my point that McCain's plan would have no chance of getting through a Democratic Congress.
October 9, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, go ahead, point them out.
October 9, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll tell you what. If you want to discuss this, recommend the post. If not, drive on. I'm pretty tired of troll behavior. If a post is worth talking about, it's worth recommending.
But take this away with you. One of the legal foundations of Capitalism is private property, which means the right to withhold from someone something they need but don't have in order to determine its price. Anyone who thinks you can value a transaction before it takes place is making an assumption that's not likely to be valid.
October 9, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thought not.
October 9, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are your really that dull, or just my latest personal troll? If you can't find the assumptions in the comment you mindlessly repeated here after I guided you to them, you have to be one or the other. Your comment is just an attempt to continue an argument from yesterday. An argument you could even argue you won as it turns out. So why troll this post?
You can have the last word. I don't respond to trolls.
October 9, 2008 11:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
..., full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
October 9, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is the exact line used by the GOP up here in Idaho - Obama will just get rolled by Pelosi (apparently Pelosi's the antichrist).
Since Palin, they have mellowed that line out in favor of the anti-homo/abortion meme. But fear of Pelosi is something they rely on on heavily to prop up otherwise unpopular republicans. That is THE ONLY reason Crapo's (GOP Senator) assistant could come up with to vote for Sali in our congressional race.
But this is a losing line for McCain at this point. People don't want a president who will stand as a roadblock for 8 years - and that is really what acknowledging the situation would do to McCain. I think he'll keep pretending that he can bring change - even though the situation is actually as you note. He's running a fantasy-based campaign at this point.
October 9, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's a theme Rove has been playing with. I think the only way McCain can bring it off is disguised as "straight talk."
October 9, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink